The import(ance) of conflict minerals : An ideal type analysis of the EU’s regulation on conflict minerals

The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent the European Union (EU) functions as a market power in the case of conflict mineral regulation. Previous research by Partzsch has shown that the EU response to conflict minerals only somewhat qualifies for the EU to be seen as a normative power. There appears to be a clash between the norms of sustainable development and economic development, which could explain why the EU does not fully qualify as a normative power. Another theoretical framework has thus been chosen to explain the EU’s function in the case of conflict minerals. This theoretical framework is Market Power Europe (MPE) by Damro, which does not look to the collective norms of the EU, but rather on the market-related policies that the Union uses to influence other actors. With the use of an ideal type analysis of EU policy and official documents, this study found that the case fills the criteria to function as a market power in the case of conflict minerals.